About Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

History of our department

1942-1949 Professor Isaharu Miki

The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery was established by the 3rd Department of Surgery in 1942, at dawn of orthopaedic surgery in Japan. The main studies of the department were the diagnosis and treatment of congenital displacements of the hip (CDH) and TB spine.

1949-1971 Professor Saburo Iino

Mass screening for congenital dislocations of the hip in Miyagi prefecture has been undertaken since this period. Clinical studies of systematic treatment for CDH including patient follow up and total hip replacement were carried out. Basic research on gait analysis has produced excellent results. The application of titanium as a material for internal fixation was examined using an animal model. The study has proved its usefulness.

1971-1986 Professor Eikichi Wakamatsu

Prof. Wakamatsu was the first to introduce the concepts of spinal canal stenosis and cauda equina syndrome in Japan. Operative techniques of total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) were greatly improved during this period. Many basic studies of osteoporosis were carried out, and morphological analysis techniques using non-decalcified specimens were established. Basic researches regarding aseptic necrosis of the femoral head produced numerous significant results.

1986-1995 Professor Minoru Sakurai

Prof. Sakurai’s clinical activities were specialized at peripheral nerve diseases, He and his colleagues also performed spinal surgery and hip surgery, and many operations such as THA for osteoarthritis of the hip and osteotomies for acetabular dysplasia. Researches in various fields were carried out, including for the pathogenesis and treatment of peripheral nerve injuries, the development of hydroxyapatite artificial bone. Prof. Sakurai has developed the Tohoku University Total Hip Replacement System.

1995-2006 Professor Shoichi Kokubun

Prof. Kokubun has developed and standardized various kinds of spinal surgery technique, including surgical treatments of cervical myelopathy, lumbar degenerative diseases, spine and spinal cord tumors, and surgical correction of spinal deformities. He has also developed the principle strategy for making neurological diagnosis of cervical myelopathy. Prof. Kokubun and his colleagues have performed many basic researches focused on the relationship between the growth/degeneration of cartilage and apoptosis, and cultures of chondrocytes and tumor cells. Projects including biomechanical studies of the spine were also performed as an international collaborative research.

Clinical Activities

Our department is now opening out-patient clinic from Monday to Friday. We also perform various kinds of surgeries everyday. In clinical conference on every Monday morning. All surgical cases are presented preoperatively.

Our department has 3 clinical groups. The Groups and their specialties are as follows:

Group 1: Hip and Knee Surgeries

・ Rotational acetabular osteotomy for secondary osteroarthrosis of the hip

・ Total hip arthroplasty and Total knee arthroplasty in OA and RA

・ Arthroscopic reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament

・ Mosaic plasty for osteonecrosis of the knee

Group 2: Spinal Surgery

・ Surgical management of congenital, degenerative, neoplastic, and infectious conditions of the spine